The subject matter described and/or illustrated herein relates generally to a cable assembly that is configured to interconnect card modules in a communication system.
Some communication systems, such as a blade server system, include a large backplane (or midplane) circuit board, which is generally referred to as a backplane (or midplane). The system also includes a plurality of card modules (e.g., line cards, server blade cards, switch cards, I/O cards). Some of the card modules may be coupled to a front side of the backplane, and other card modules can be coupled to a back side of the backplane. The card modules coupled to the front side extend parallel to each other, but orthogonal to the card modules coupled to the back side of the backplane. For example, the card modules along the front side may extend vertically, and the card modules along the back side may extend horizontally. The front side card modules and the back side card modules are communicatively coupled to one another through the backplane.
The front side and/or back side card modules typically include a card (e.g., a circuit board) with a number of mating connectors mounted to a leading edge of the card. The card modules are configured to be inserted into a system chassis where the mating connectors are coupled to electrical connectors of the backplane during a mating operation. However, as the number of mating connectors along the leading edge increases, it may become more challenging to align the mating connectors due to tolerances in the manufacturing of the cards, the mating connectors, the backplane, the system chassis, or other components of the system. Moreover, the large backplane may impede airflow throughout the communication system.
Accordingly, there is a need to improve the interconnection of card modules in a communication system.